Join Tadamon! and Cinema Politica Concordia for the Canadian premiere of RETURN TO HOMS, a Sundance-winner that intimates the tribulations of the Syrian revolution while revealing the human price of resistance. The screening will be followed by a Skype Q&A with director Talal Derki.

Filmed over three years in Homs, Syria, the film accompanies two outstanding young men from the time they are dreaming of freedom and defending pacifism, to the time when choices are forced to be different.

Basset, the 19 years old national football team goalkeeper, turning into an iconic demonstration leader and singer, then, becoming a fighter and Ossama, a 24 years old renowned citizen-cameraman who is critical, pacifist, and ironic, as his views change till he is detained by the regime’s security forces.

It is the story of a city, which the world heard of a lot, but never really got close to. Return to Homs is a modern times epic of youth in war, and of forced choices.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is an International Tribunal citizens’ initiative , created as a result of the inaction of the international community in relation to violations of international law committed by Israel. During five international meetings, the TRP discussed the liability and breach of third countries , companies and international organizations in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories , and the perpetuation of violations of international law by Israel. A session was also devoted to whether the crime of apartheid as defined by international conventions, was due to Israel. www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com

Frank Barat will give a brief historical overview of the work of the The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, including the Vietnam and South America tribunal of the 70s and will then focus on the Palestine tribunal with a strong emphasis on its last session, in Cape Town, that concluded that ‘Israel policies against the Palestinian People were in breach of the prohibition against Apartheid in International Law’.

Frank Barat is coordinator of the russel tribunal on palestine and also published : ” The realm of the possible “, ” Palestine state of siege “, ” Gaza in Crisis ” and ” Justice for Palestine ” . He produces and co-hosts ” The wall has ears ” on Radio Panik .

Tadamon! invites you to a critical discussion surrounding the Syrian revolution, aiming to generate a greater understanding of developments on the ground. This event will examine internal and external actors, their sources of funding, and the interests they serve. Above all, it will endeavour to move thinking and debate about the current context in Syria beyond the limitations of rigid dichotomies – such as jihadist opposition vs secular regime; western proxies/insurgents vs forces of resistance – to see the complex and changing dynamics of the revolution as it continues to unfold in Syrian cities and towns. Discussion will then turn to the role of international solidarity, and how allies can move forward in supporting the Syrian people’s struggle for self-determination.

Featuring presentations from:

* Brian Aboud, researcher, activist, and educator

* Ramy Nakache, social justice and solidarity activist

For more information: Tadamon!Tel: 514-664-1036E-mail: info@tadamon.ca

Tadamon! stands firmly against the Quebec Charter of Values proposed by the Parti Québécois. The Charter, announced in detail on 10 September 2013, seeks to eliminate select religious symbols from government services and organizations, in particular by banning public sector employees from wearing “conspicuous” religious symbols. The Quebec public sector includes workers in hospitals, courtrooms, municipal offices, schools, daycares, and universities, among others. In effect, this bill — if passed — will preclude anyone who wears the hijab, niqab, turban, kippah and “large religious pendants” from acquiring or keeping jobs in a massive segment of the workforce. Furthermore, Muslim women who wear the niqab will be prevented from receiving government services.

Tadamon! (Arabic for “solidarity”), is a Montreal-based collective working in solidarity with struggles for self-determination, equality and justice in the ‘Middle East’ and in diaspora communities in Montreal and beyond. We oppose all systems of oppression whether based on gender, sexual orientation or class and we reject racism in its various forms, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Furthermore, we reject nationalism: its exclusions and its tendency to exploit, rather than challenge, oppressions based on class, gender, “race” and ethnic or religious affiliation. We do not support any government or political party.

On this basis, we reject the xenophobic Charter of Quebec Values and the racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and sexism it propagates. If passed, the Charter will undoubtedly increase the precarity of already marginalized communities: it prescribes economic repression, inequality, and injustice for specific faith groups by (further) limiting the opportunities available in our already unequal society. Moreover, it has already inspired increased verbal and physical violence against Muslim women.

We must be clear about the intent and consequences of this proposed legislation: through the Charter, the Parti Québécois is actively sanctioning discrimination and violence, creating a platform for virulent racism and xenophobia.

The State’s fixation on the hijab and niqab, in particular, is a reminder of Quebec and Canada’s legacy of colonialism, and calls to mind the politicization of the veil in French-colonized Algeria. The Charter rests upon a similar colonial logic and political opportunism, promoting egregious stereotypes of Muslim women as being without agency. We reject this characterization, and support Muslim women in their struggles for self-determination.

Moreover, we reject the disingenuous discourse the Parti Québécois has promoted in their framing of the Charter as “feminist”. Telling people — and particularly women, so often the subjects of such attention — what to wear or what not to wear is unacceptable on any grounds. Indeed, the great irony is that the State, while accusing pious men of forcing items of clothing upon pious women, is deploying precisely the same paternalistic logic in telling women what not to wear.

This “Charter of Values” — whose values? — must not be allowed to pass. To this end, we stand in solidarity with all those who struggle against poverty, precarity, racism and exclusion.

Tadamon! endorses the October 20 demonstration and march organized by the ‘Ensemble Contre les Chartes Xénophobes coalition’.

This roundtabe discussion is part of Culture Shock! A co-presentation by the SSMU and QPIRG-McGill. For the full schedule, visit http://qpirgmcgill.org/culture-shock/
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Join Tadamon! for a workshop exploring the struggles of political prisoners in Palestine. The historical context of political imprisonment in Palestine will be charted, the realities faced by prisoners will be reviewed, and administrative detention discussed. The workshop will also highlight resistance to political imprisonment both inside and outside of prisons, including the recent hunger strikes and mass demonstration. Discussion will then turn to the global BDS campaign against G4S and its complicity in securing Israeli apartheid.

From June 23 – July 4 2013, a group of international librarians and archivists traveled to Palestine to connect with colleagues in libraries, archives, and related projects. The delegation explored issues of access to information under occupation and colonialism in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and 1948 Palestine (Israel). The delegation bore witness to the destruction, theft and appropriation of books and historical documents, and was inspired by the many projects, institutions, and individuals engaged in daily resistance to settler-colonialism. Two delegates, Andrea Miller-Nesbitt and Maggie Schreiner, will discuss their experiences on the delegation, share some of the projects that were visited, and provide an overview of the next steps for the delegation’s ongoing solidarity work.

The presentation will be in English with whisper translation available.

Andrea Miller-Nesbitt is a librarian at McGill University. She is a former member of the Montreal chapter of Radical Reference and currently plays in the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble.

Maggie Schreiner is an archivist at the Tamiment Library and Wagner Labor Archive, a collection of Labor and the Left in New York City. She also plays snare drum in the radical marching band the Rude Mechanical Orchestra.